Information Technology Director Dan Lackore presented the Lake County Board with an update on work that the I.T. department has been doing to replace outdated computer equipment and to make sure that security systems at county facilities are in peak working order. Upgrades include hardware that will make County computer systems more efficient and will help protect the entire system from the ongoing threat of malware and ransomware attacks. Conference rooms are getting fiber optic audio and video systems installed to make video conferencing and recording more efficient. Desktop computers are also being replaced with laptops.
Extreme weather events are becoming more common in Minnesota. The evidence of this can easily be seen in the instances of extreme heat, drought, flooding and erosion, the decline in air and water quality, and the threat of wildfires that have been experienced around the state. State legislators have initiated a Climate Resilience Plan in an effort to help communities prepare for, withstand, and recover from the impacts of climate change. Funding to assist with these measures comes from both State and Federal sources. The Legislative Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) oversees these matters and the reason this is important at this time is because there is not currently a representative from our region to represent North Shore counties. Fortunately, there is a local official who is interested in taking this on and has asked for the Board’s support. Positions on the LCCMR are by appointment of the Governor. With the County Board’s support, we will hopefully have a representative on the LCCMR soon.
Board Chair Rich Sve stated that Senator Grant Hauschild is working to set up a meeting with the DNR to see about resolving some of the concerns around the Knife River Marina. The 100-slip marina is an important part of both commerce and culture for Knife River. Readers will remember that the DNR has managed the marina for over 20 years. Mismanagement might be a more accurate description of what has happened there. Extensive maintenance and repairs are needed to keep the marina a viable feature for both residents and tourists.
Commissioner Joe Baltich spoke about an issue that is perhaps becoming more common in rural parts of the State. Ambulance services in some North Shore communities are lacking the funds to operate. There are several reasons for this, but part of this problem is driven by the fact that healthcare organizations, including ambulance services, often have to rely on payments from Medicare. They are not fully reimbursed for their services and Medicare doesn’t pay out for 60 to 90 days. This becomes a big problem when operating on a tight budget. State officials have taken notice of this issue and Baliich has suggested that a State fund be set up to allocate money specifically for rural ambulance services. “Medicare reimbursement is killing this in our area,” Baltich said. Clearly, things will need to change at both the State and Federal level so that people in rural communities have access to the care and services that they need and deserve.
Upcoming meetings include a Board of Commissioners meeting at 2:00 PM on December 19th and a Public Meeting concerning the Knife River Stormwater Plan, to be held on December 20th at 5:00 PM, at the Knife River Recreation Building.
